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Healthcare Healthcare is lacking for the general population after the Plague, seeing as there are not many people left who require it. (And, now that necromancy is becoming the norm, why would the government need to keep live citizens healthy? A corpse is worth more than a bedriddened person.) Doctors are still available to the public but the treatments they offer are not very advanced; since the society is still getting back on its feet, there are no current plans to pursue any new medical technologies either. There is a larger focus on treating immediate symptoms to keep patients comfortable, rather than digging deeper and treating the underlying issue. The higher class has access to private doctors with more advanced treatments, which come at a high cost that only some (re: the rich) can afford. During the Plague years, it was common for the hospital pharmacy to be raided for their drugs to help alleviate symptoms that were causing the most discomfort. Since doctors could not determine the cause of the Plague or how to reverse the effects, doctors mostly treated the aches & pains to keep people as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. There was a push towards controlling one’s pain for the time being and wait until the next appointment to do further testing; often times, patients did not survive til the next meeting. Besides, once necromancy had become the norm and the kinks had been worked out, there became a smaller and smaller focus on treating people in order to sustain/extend their lifespans. It is more expensive to keep someone alive and nurse them back to health, rather than keep them comfortable and let them die so that they can be reintroduced back into the workforce. Because of the frequent deaths in the city, organ donation is much more common. The Reanimated Labourers do not have any use for their organs after death and will have them all removed prior to working anyways, so many more people are willing to donate their organs post-mortem. Amongst the higher class, there are groups that are wealthy enough to - not only have private doctors available to them - but to have donated organs on stand-by. There have been occasions when someone will “take as many drugs as it takes to make their heart literally give out” and then have a healthy heart/other organ transplanted, just because they can. Drug culture Drugs are definitely not uncommon in the city, among all demographics of people as well. After the Plague was eradicated and the Grateful Dead Act was brought into effect, most living people did not need to work and therefore do not have a lot to do. Experimentation with drugs became more and more common across the classes, magical and non-magical people alike. Government officials were not particularly worried about usage overall as long as productivity and safety were not a concern. The laws concerning drugs and public intoxication were more strictly policed during this time, especially in workplace settings. With not much to do for the living - considering not many of them have to work anymore - hallucinogen use has also been on the rise as a way of occupying oneself. People will gather in a large space (ie: old movie theatre, sporting arena, etc.) and take hallucinogenic drugs together, using other substances to enhance their ‘trip’ (ex: strong smells, loud music/sounds, tactile/textured items, etc.). Government officials expressed that, as long as people were being responsible and were taking precautions so as to not hurt themselves or others, drug use would be tolerated and legalized for recreational usage but only in the home or in sanctioned areas. Drugs are not at all used amongst Reanimated Labourers as they do not have a consciousness and cannot actually become intoxicated. It is also common for people to take substances in order to control various illnesses. Healthcare in the post-Plague world is significantly lacking since hospitals essentially became hospices and/or large morgues. Citizens were left relatively on their own in terms of managing their own health if they were not actively dying. Hospital pharmacies were raided during the Plague years by people desperate to be cured. But nothing could combat it fast enough to stop the illness entirely, so drugs were used up in order to provide relief for immediate symptoms. There is a significant Black Market for hospital-grade drugs within the city used mostly by those wanting to self-medicate or those wanting a “different” high. Because this takes money away from the government and the big pharma companies, it is highly frowned upon and is highly punishable by law enforcement. Greenspaces Most green spaces in New Jericho died out during the Plague years due to lack of maintenance; it wasn’t seen as a priority while the majority of the population was sick and dying. There is however one greenspace left in the city, cared for by a fringe community of citizens dedicated to returning nature to the city. They refer to themselves as “Shrubfolk” but are derogatorily referred to as “Bushwhackers” by city inhabitants; many inhabitants of the city do not see the point in the park being maintained when the economy has been brought to such a problematic place. The park - dubbed ‘Ravenhaven’ by the group - is now inhabited by these passionate environmentalists and is fiercely protected by them. The Shrubfolk have built spaces for themselves embedded in the hills of the greenspace and have created a small society for themselves where they never have to leave the park. The Shrubfolk are also known for experimenting with drugs recreationally, especially with hallucinogens. They are not known for being aggressive when protecting the space but have been in several altercations with outsiders trying to access the park for “unsavoury” purposes (ie: drugs, sex, or general mischief). The Shrubfolk describe themselves as passionate warriors for good, focused solely on returning Ravenhaven to its former glory and keeping it safe & maintained. They can regularly be seen in the park, trimming foliage and maintaining their collection of crops. Some can also be seen handing out informational pamphlets within the city to spread awareness and insight action for the environment, but they are not well-received. Apart from Ravenhaven, New Jericho is mostly an industrial city that is heavily polluted, meaning plant life does not grow easily without meticulous care.